General Info

Chair's Welcome

Welcome to the Media Arts and Technology Graduate Program. MAT is a unique, dynamic graduate program at the University of California, Santa Barbara, positioned at the intersection of arts, engineering, and science. Since its inception in 1999, MAT students and faculty have pushed the envelope of multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary work in digital media, with world-class research and creative activities that are published, installed, shown, performed, and discussed in top venues around the world.

Originally a Master's program, MAT added a Ph.D. degree program in 2005, and currently has close to an equal balance of Master's and Ph.D. students. MAT students come from a variety of backgrounds - most, though not all, have undergraduate degrees in computer science, art, electrical/computer engineering, or music, and experience and interest in both technical and aesthetic aspects of scholarship and creative work. The critical element for an MAT student (or faculty, for that matter) is a passion for thinking and working out of the box, beyond the traditional disciplinary boundaries that can serve to limit creative opportunities.

Why study or work at UCSB in Media Arts and Technology? The excellent faculty, the unique and flexible curriculum, the opportunity to learn from fellow students and faculty with very diverse backgrounds, the great laboratory spaces (including the one-of-a-kind AlloSphere), the opportunities in many departments at a top research university known for its interdisciplinarity - and of course the terrific location of UCSB. It's no secret that Santa Barbara is a wonderful place to live, and, yes, a campus next to the Pacific Ocean is hard to beat!

Please peruse our site, which has a lot to say about Media Arts and Technology at UCSB, including information on MAT curricula, research, facilities, and people. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at chair (at) mat.ucsb.edu.